WI: Always
by Lisabeth C
Summary: AU Buffy is sent to an alternate universe where Angel has not lost his soul. BA, duh. first in a series of What if?s.
1. Beginnings

short, I know, but I think it has the intended effect.

* * *

_Buffy shoved the sword into Angel, weeping, her lips still cold from his kiss. Her force had an almost backwards effect as she, attached to the sword unintentionally, fell into the portal as well._ _

* * *

_

Buffy's eyes flickered open and she looked at a room that she thought she remembered from a dream in the past.

It was familiar and she didn't know why. Suddenly she realized she was in someone else's bed…naked. She brought theblanket up, to cover herself. She looked for her clothes. 'Where can they be?' she asked herself as she perused the room frantically.

"Buffy, are you okay?" A concerned voice asked from another room.

She didn't think to reply until a figure appeared in the doorway. She dropped her underwear.

"Weren't you going to go take a shower?" He asked.

"Um, yeah." She smiled weakly.

"You have to be at school in an hour and a half." His smile melted her to the floor.

"I know, Angel."


	2. Ready Set Date

After she finished her shower, she frantically changed and with a reluctant hug goodbye, she fled the scene. How could this be happening? She'd sent Angel to hell…to think of it… she'd accidentally gone with him. Maybe this was her personal hell and she was bound to it. All she could conclude was that she had to talk to Giles. Stat.

"Buffy!" A female voice called from behind her as she walked into school. She turned and almost began to cry.

"Miss Calendar! How are you?" Her voice was shaking.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Rupert took me out for dinner last night, and we finally set the date." She said nonchalantly as she stuffed her keys into her handbag.

"What date?" She was caught off guard.

"The wedding date, silly!" Jenny laughed. "It's in July. The 23rd. Do you think you can come?"

"Oh…yeah, I'm sure I can." Buffy spoke without a thought.

"That's good. I know Rupert would appreciate you being there. Maybe you could give him away?" Jenny laughed again and walked to her classroom. Buffy saw the glimmeringdiamond engagement ringon her finger and sighed heavily.

"Bye, Jenny." She said, softly strangled, choked up.

Throughout the day, she avoided the entire gang whenever possible. She was driven to find out her predicament and how to fix it, whichever "reality" she chose. She had to avoid Angel as well, seeing him just made her heart shatter.

When she arrived home, it was dark and she turned on the lights. It looked the same, and she could hear her mom singing to the radio upstairs. It looked like _some_ things never changed.

* * *

She sat on her bed and looked at the ring on her finger. It was the claddagh ring that he had given to her. She smiled softly and looked at the inscription on the underside of the ring: "always". It meant she belonged to him. For a moment, she felt at peace. But, it was fleeting and once again she found herself asking 'why? Why am I here?' Suddenly, she pulled out a pen and some paper and began to write.

She wrote out what could have happened to her. It included a list of theories and consequences. All she could think was that it was a good thing that she'd listened to Giles' lecture about meddling in other peoples' lives. With this paper, she took off for Sunnydale High School.

* * *

Entering the library, she felt a chill.

"Buffy!" Willow said to her, as if she were a ghost.

"Willow!" Buffy smiled and hugged her.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you all day!" She said kindly and sat down.

"I've been busy." She sighed. "Hey, do you know where Giles keeps the books on alternate realities?"

"Yeah. They're in the back, near the stacks of all the books on dark magic and stuff. Y'know…the stuff we're not _supposed_ to be looking at?" Willow gave Buffy a knowing look.

"_Supposed_ to? Have you been sneaking peeks? Like a bad little witch?" Buffy teased.

"No." Willow said, confused by Buffy's statement.

"Oh." Buffy's eyes widened. _Oops_. "Okay…and Willow?"

"Yeah?" she looked up.

"I'm sorry,so sorry, and thanks for what you did." Buffy said softly and she knew this Willow would have no idea what she was talking about, but that was okay.

"Oh, it's no problem, Buffy." Willow replied with a smile.

Buffy walked away to the back and grabbed a bundle of books and left with them.

"Miss Summers. What are you doing at the school without a chaperone at a time like this?" She heard a rude voice behind her.

"Principal Snyder! How nice to see you." She said, surprised, as she turned around.

"Mr. Giles must stop these late study sessions. They encourage vandalism. You wouldn't know anything about that_, would you_?" He said rudely and pointed at a locker back at the end of the hall.

"No, sir."

"Sure, sure, Summers. I expect you here at seven, tomorrow morning, to clean it up. _Don't_ be late." He walked away, leaving her in shock.

"Impotent little-" Buffy cursed under her breath and walked out the door.

"Hey, there you are." Buffy froze.

"Angel?" She turned back.

"Buffy." He said quietly.

"You know that whole appearing out of nowhere thing gets kind of creepy, right?" Her frown turned upwards slightly.

"So I've been told." A small smile flickered across his lips. He walked closer and her knees locked.

"Angel." She whispered, almost to herself.

"I'm right here." He whispered, tears rising in his eyes.

"You too, huh?" She hugged him.


	3. Tutoring

"You too, huh?" She whispered.

He didn't reply, but instead collapsed to his knees. He began to cry, it seemed for no apparent reason. She knelt down beside him.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay, I'm here. What's wrong?" She was starting to cry as well.

"Oh God." He said, strangled. "What…what have I done?" He clasped his hands to his face.

"What do you mean?" Buffy was sincerely puzzled.

"I…I killed her." He said quietly.

"You can't mean-" Her eyes widened.

"How did this happen to us?" He croaked.

"I, I don't know." She looked down at the books. "I was about to figure it out. Come with me." She whispered.

* * *

Buffy unlocked the door, and she and Angel began to go up the steps. They got to the top step when she heard a noise. 

Joyce coughed "Buffy?"

"Oh, hi, Mom."

"Don't 'hi, Mom' me, young lady." Joyce's arms were crossed in a menacing manner. "Who is this young man with you?"

"Angel." He smiled weakly.

"Mom, you do remember Angel, don't you? My tutor?" Buffy tried to refresh her mother's memory.

"Oh, yes. Okay, carry on." She smiled and walked away. "But don't be up too late studying, I don't want his parents to worry."

"Don't worry about that, ma'am." Angel said quietly.

* * *

"You called my mom 'ma'am'?" Buffy asked, disbelieving. 

"It's respectful." Angel said simply.

"Still, you're like way older than she is." Buffy insisted and she sat down on the bed.

"Not in appearance." He sighed as he took the spot next to her. She put her hand on his face and felt how smooth it was.

"So, you'll never ever change?" She whispered, "You'll always be just like this?"

He paused and looked down "Yes."

"I kinda guessed so. But you know what they say about assuming-" She smiled as if she didn't really want to.

"Yeah. So, research?" He said quietly.

"Total research mode. You take the big dusty version and I'll take the less confusing one. Deal?" She raised an eyebrow at an obviously sulking Angel. She softened her voice abruptly. "Angel, it'll be fine. We'll find a way, I'm sure of it. I'll get Giles' help in the morning, if he doesn't think I'm too much of a loony." She kissed his cheek. "Can we get started?"

"Hand it over." He looked up.

"I knew you'd see it my way." She grinned.

They researched for hours and seemed to find no recorded case similar to their own. Each case noted a vengeance demon or as they liked to be called, "justice" demons. Nothing mentioned Acathla.

"God, what time is it?" Buffy frantically asked with a groan.

Angel pulled out a pocket watch, one that looked very old and antique and rubbed his eyes "It's eleven. I should probably go." He stood up. She grabbed for his hand.

"Don't." She whispered.

"Buffy, I have to." He insisted quietly.

"Angel, whatever happened, it's given us a second chance. I don't intend on wasting it." She bit her lip.

"We don't belong here, Buffy."

At this, she removed her hand coldly and in a hurt voice replied "I'll check with Giles in the morning."


	4. Une affaire avec la connaissance

Buffy woke up in a drowsy, upset state. She dressed, combed her hair, applied lipgloss and left the house. If only she could stop thinking about Angel... But, that couldn't be fixed because Mr. Broody-pants was always on her mind. Plus, she had to talk to Giles about their predicament.

Entering the school, her stomach made a lurch and she checked her watch. 7:05. She was late.

"Miss Summers, how nice of you to finally appear!" Snyder insulted her sarcastically.

"Hello, Principal Snyder. I'm sorry I'm late, my dog, he kept running around the house and eating cockroaches. Totally not fun." Buffy lied.

"I suppose I can excuse lateness, but just this time." He gave her a cruel grin and handed her a can of paint thinner. "Someone decided to be creative and draw some kind of symbol." He pointed to what looked like a pentagram painted onto the lockers. "God knows how much damage has been done to the property in those lockers." He laughed quietly and walked away.

"Guess I better get started." She said to herself, slightly sarcastic.

* * *

She finally finished, eventually staining her jeans, her designer jeans. 

She walked into Giles' office and sat down.

"Buffy." He turned around "God, you look like death." He joked as he looked her up and down.

"Oh thanks, Giles, that was so what I wanted to hear this morning." Buffy continued her streak of sarcasm.

"What is it you're here about, then?" He rubbed his glasses.

"Well, okay, I know this sounds crazy, but I'm from a different universe."

He raised an eyebrow "Actually, that's not crazy at all." He sighed.

"What? So I'm stressing over nothing?" She was disbelieving.

"Not really. Can you explain your predicament to me?" He asked as he sat down.

And she did. She went throughout the story, detailing it with her emotions and more importantly what she was wearing that day.

"It seems to me, if it was not indeed made true by a vengeance demon, it typically cannot be fixed."

"So, I'm just stuck here?" Her nose flared angrily.

"Well, you have to be, Buffy. It seems as if your two selves have merged into one, and using magic to transfer from one to the other would just leave one universelacking a Slayer."

"I'm just supposed to stay here and act like I know what's been going on for the past, oh, five months?" She slumped in her chair.

"Well, yes unless I am able to find some way to leave both worlds unharmed and distribute the respective parts of you."

"So one eye goes here and another there?" She joked.

"No, of course not." He took it very seriously. "Seemingly, a clone would be made of you, but each containing the knowledge for their own universe. It's incredibly complicated and I doubt it could be done." He rubbed his glasses again, but obsessively this time.

"Hmmph." Buffy said.

"I truly believe, and this may be just a theory, but if you immerse yourself in this world and adapt to what has happened in this world's people, memories within the other Buffy will arise in yourself, and your other world will just become a faint undercurrent."

"I see, like seeing as both Buffy's are one now, they share the lives?"

"Exactly. I think you've got it."

"Wow. I feel all proud of myself." She smiled.

"You should probably get on to class, a few more infractions and hall passes written and I will surely no longer be working here." Giles sighed as he turned around.

"Okay. I have French this period anyway. The uber-easy."

"Good luck." He said unenthusiastically as he opened an old volume that exuded dust.

* * *

"Class, today we are going to solve silly phrases, seeing as finals are very soon and I have already handed out the reviews. Miss Summers, you may start. Just choose a silly phrase in French andpick someone to decipher it." The teacher began to talk to the class.

"Okay." Buffy smiled.

"In French, please?"

"Homme… Macho macho, je veux être un homme Macho." She finished nervously and pointed to Devon, who sat on the other side of the room.

"Macho Macho guy, I want to be a macho guy?" He guessed.

"Macho _man._" Buffy enunciated with a smile.

"Okay. Well, Il y a un chat dans mon pantalon et il ronronne toute l'heure." He said with a smile, pointing to Cordelia.

"There is a cat in my pants…and it purrs all the time!" Cordelia exclaimed.

"Devon." The teacher gave him a look of warning.

"Sorry. It was supposed to be silly, right?"

"Courbes de Corvette caressant des falaises" Cordelia pointed to an unknowing victim.

* * *

_I used Altavista Babel Fish Language Translator for that. Sue me, I'm bored. Cordelia's meant "Corvette curves caressing cliffs".The title of this chapter (Une affaire avec la connaissance) means "An Affair with Knowledge". Ciao, wait, wrong language._


	5. Realizations

_some time has been skipped in between chapters, a few hours at most. oh, thanks for the reviews:)_

* * *

Buffy walked into the library after school as Giles had told her to do at lunch and saw that everybody was sitting and looking at her. 

"Who, Giles, is this just a coincidence or-?" Buffy motioned.

"Buffy, find a seat. I've called an emergency meeting." He said nonchalantly.

"Emergen-?" Buffy started.

"We can finally get started." He gave a warning glance to her. "Now, as we all know, Buffy has been acting very strange the past two days. This is not entirely her fault." Giles talked as if she wasn't even there. She just twiddled with her ring in response. "She has informed me that she has been transported here from an alternate universe."

"I knew it! I just knew that there were really people on Mars!" Xander exclaimed.

"Xander, we are talking about an alternate _reality. _Both, our Buffy and the other Buffy have been condensed into one." Giles reasoned.

"That's like really weird." Cordelia replied.

Buffy nodded.

"Have you spoken to Angel yet, Buffy?" Giles gave her a critical gaze.

"And I would have time to do that, when?" She raised her eyebrows.

"I expect it to be done, tonight."

"Okay, okay, whatever." She got up.

"I didn't say you could go." He notified her.

"I know."

* * *

She hated the way Giles was all of a sudden all stiff and scone-y to her. It was completely unnatural and it was if he felt she was a stranger. Most of all it was condescending and mucho annoying.

She shook it off and entered Angel's apartment.

"Angel?" She called.

"Hey." He said.

"There you are." She smiled softly as he sat down on his bed.

"So why the visit?" He asked.

"Well, I talked to Giles…" His grin slowly became a frown. "Why the sudden broody face?"

"What 'sudden broody face'?" He asked, innocently. "I don't get why people always say I brood."

"That's because you are." She said effortlessly.

"Stupid people." He muttered under his breath.

"I love your broodiness." She smiled.

"Okay, so what did Giles say?" He changed the subject.

"There you go again! Always changing the subject when we start acting like ourselves again." Buffy looked down. She was sitting on the bed now.

He took her hand into his. "I'm sorry" He looked into her eyes as he said it.

"So, Giles said that since it wasn't made my a vengeance demon, our selves are merged and just sending one to either universe would just leave one lacking us. So, apparently the other world is like erased unless we go back."

"All we have to do now is choose." He looked to his feet.

"I say here." She whispered.

"Why?" He was confused.

"Isn't it obvious?" She paused. "God, I can never win with you, can I?" His look told her everything she needed to know.


	6. No Regrets

She walked briskly into her room and put her purse down with vigor. It felt as if her world was ending, the man she loved had made it quite apparent that he didn't want to be with her and she felt out of place in this world.

She sat down and pulled out her French textbook and sighed as she began to review.

"_Maria va faire des emplettes chaque Dimanche_" she murmured to herself. "_Elle a acheté un pain de pain et d'un sac à main cher. C'était turquoise._"

There was a light and brief knock on her window. The curtains were down and the window was closed. She drew up her knees and began to read again.

"_Le mari de Maria est un peintre, il peint des watercolors des chiens et des chats sur des coins de rue. Ils se vendent très bon marché et seraient médiocres_."

Another knock.

"_Maria et lui mari, Jacques, rassemblement à un restaurant d'aliments de préparation rapide pour le dîner. Il note sa nouvelle bourse. Il complimente et demande combien il coûte._"

Another few knocks. Buffy started to hyperventilate.

"_Jacques est exaspéré à sa confession et laisse ses fritures belges et repas combo au hurlement hors des obscénités dans la salle de bains_."

Another knock drove her over the edge and she furiously opened her curtains. Her anger melted as she saw who was on the other side.

She effortlessly opened the window.

"What are you doing here?" She looked down, averting his eyes.

"I didn't want what I said to come across the wrong way."

"How couldn't it come across the wrong way, Angel, really?" She said in a biting voice and turned away.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." She replied and he climbed in. "Though, technically, I'm not supposed to have boys in my room."

"Well, I'm not a boy."

"To my mom you are." She whispered.

"Right." He sighed.

"As I said, 'what are you doing here?'"

"I came to apologize for my behavior earlier."

"Apologize for what? Angel? You made it very clear you don't want to see me…" She turned back.

"That's not it, Buffy. I do. Every minute."

"That is not how it seemed, at all." She whispered.

"You want me to tell you that I want to stay here. I can't do that. I can't reason it in my head."

"Why?"

"I can't rationalize it because every minute you're with me, I don't know why."

"What do you mean by that?" She was hurt. It was as if he was doubting her emotions.

"After what I've done to you, your friends, I don't see why you would still want to be with me."

"You don't know why, Angel? How can you not-?" Her face was very blatant in showing how she was feeling, her eyes were crying, her cheeks red, her lips pouting. "I knew it was Angelus that did those things, it wasn't you. It was never you." She sighed and sat back down on her bed.

He didn't reply but sat next to her.

"Angel, you guilt yourself all the time about things you didn't do. Here, you don't need to. They've given you a second chance, Angel. Us a second chance." She sobbingly intertwined her fingers with his. "We get a chance to fix our mistakes. I don't see why you would leave that."

"Because our mistakes make us who we are."

"Always brooding. Clean slate, Angel, no regrets." She whispered in his ear.

"No regrets." He whispered back with a light smile.

* * *

_There is oodles more, so don't think it's done. Translate the French portions here: __http/babelfish._


	7. Oh no, ominous music

_Don't get spoiled and expect two chapters a day. lol. I just did it 'cause I had extra time._

* * *

"Spikey." Drusilla lay on the floor of the warehouse, gazing at the dark ceiling. "It's raining sparks tonight."

"No, Dru. It's clear, a dry May day."

"But, Spike, they're dying! Can't I get the last bit? The crumbs left for the mice?" She was persistent.

"What is it, Pet? A vision?" He got up.

"Languages…they're talking nonsense, William, babbling on and on." She grasped her head angrily. "Make them stop." She whispered as she pulled her knees close.

"You want to look at the stars, love? I'll bring you the sun." He smiled as he sat next to her.

"A large ratty rock - a cat waltzing, _waltzing_, on the pond. Too large to be a pond." She confused herself as she bobbed around.

"Is it a lake?"

"Yes, with fishes. Fishes with great large jaws."

"Where is this rock, dear heart?"

"A man, he's chipping away at it. Chip." Then she smiled and began to laugh. "But there's a toy surprise! A large doll." Her smiled turned into a large open grin. "Spike, will you get me the doll? I would name him Charley, after that boy I ate last night." She bit her lip.

"You want a dolly, darling?"

"Yes. Yes, I do."

* * *

A Museum curator examined as one of his employees dusted off a large box like rock. There were many inscriptions.

"Hello?" Giles entered politely.

"Rupert Giles?" The curator went to greet him.

"Yes." Giles replied simply.

"Doug Perren." They shook hands, awkwardly. "Thanks for coming."

"Oh, not at all. It's... flattered to be asked." Giles blushed modestly.

"I spoke with Lou Tabor at the Washington Institute, and he told

me we had the best authority on obscure relics right here in Sunnydale."

"Oh..."Giles laughed "He may have, uh, exaggerated a little." Giles saw the rock and began another sentence "Ah, is this the..."

"This is our baby." Giles and Doug walked closer. "Construction workers dug it

up outside of town. Don't have a clue what it is. Any ideas?"

He touched the exterior and began. "A few. None I'd care to share

until I can verify" He noticed the writings on it "You have, uh, carbon dated

it?"

"The results'll be back in a couple of days. I'll go out on a limb

and say old." Doug guessed.

Giles smirked. "Um, yes, it, it certainly..." He picked up a jar and scraper.

"predates any, uh... settlements we've read about" He pointed at a place on the rock."Um,

may, may I?"

"Yeah. Sure."

Giles leaned in and began to scrape at the corner of the obelisk,

catching the debris in the jar. He dug into an apparent groove. A few

scrapes later he stopped and tapped the scraper clean on the jar.

"I assume you've, uh, you haven't tried to open it."

"Open it?" Doug was surprised at the suggestion.

He leaned over to see what Giles has discovered.

"Ah, I'll be damned. I figured it was solid. What do you think is

in there?" Doug smiled.

"I don't know." Giles said as he stared at it.

"Well... I guess we won't know until we open it up."

"Yes, but could I ask, um... would you wait? I, uh...

I'd like to work on translating the text. It-it-it might give us an

indication of... what we'll find inside." Giles considered it.

"You don't want to be surprised?" Doug raised his eyebrows.

"A-as a rule, no." He sighed as he rubbed his glasses.

"Alright. You're the expert. But I'm pretty damn curious, though." Doug settled on Giles' decision.

"Yes. Yes, so am I."

* * *

"Gawd! My French exam about killed me!" Buffy exclaimed in the hallway.

"Did it have fangs?" Xander asked quickly.

"No?" Buffy replied with a strange glance at Xander.

"So studying at the Bronze tonight?" Willow asked almost rhetorically.

"Totally." Buffy said without reserve. "I am study girl tonight."

"Are you sure you'll actually be studying?" Willow said, doubt apparent in her tone.

"Yes! I will study! With five minute dance breaks every twenty minutes. But still, grinding the math into my head."

"Angel-age?"

"Maybe. It was kind of a 'I might be there' thing." Buffy shrugged. "Oz playing?"

"His heart out!" Willow exclaimed. "He's debuting a song he wrote for _moi_' tonight."

"Excited much?" Xander immersed himself in the conversation again.

"Yep. Song dedication, big thing." Willow motioned.

"Uber-yay for Wills." Buffy smiled. As they walked past a class room, she stopped in her tracks. "This is where I get off, English, exam over _Tale of Two Cities." _She said confidently, then paused. "Wait, did I read that?" Buffy panicked and ran into the classroom.


	8. Horror

_There is a "twins" motif throughout the novel, state examples._

**Lucie Manette, and Miss Pross. Lorry and Jerry **obviously wrong

_A theme of resurrection is ever present in the novel, how long had Dr. Manette been in prison?_

**18 years **correct

_Why does Madame Defarge knit?_

**Madame Defarge knits symbols that represent people to be killed by Guillotine, her knitting is a record. **Correct

_Who is the "king with the large jaw"?_

**Louis the 16th on the French throne, George the 3rd on the English. **Correct

_What does Dickens draw a parallel to with "golden thread"?_

**Lucie Manette's golden locks. **Correct.

_In which popular children's program did George the 3rd exclaim "I don't care!"?_

"**School House Rock"! **heck yessssss…

_The Marquis st. Evremonde hits and kills what with his carriage?_

_A a mangy stray_

_B Charles Darnay_

_C Madame Defarge_

_D Gaspard's son_

_E Lucie Manette_

**d. Gaspard's son. **Correct.

_What did the note left with the murdered Marquis say?_

A "_Take that, suckas"_

B "_Drive him fast to his tomb"_

C "_The Aristocracy sucks and Marie Antoinette is a cow"_

D "_A stone heart like his stone garden"_

**D.** "**A stone heart like his stone garden" **wrong

_Why does Dr. Manette emerge pale from his pre-wedding conference with Charles Darnay?_

**He has discovered Charles' true identity. **Correct

* * *

Buffy walked to the front of the classroom nervously and placed her test down on the table. Biting her lip, she made her way back to her seat.

"Are all the tests in?" Ms. Carraway, the English teacher asked, a little too loudly.

"Yes." The class groaned in unison.

"You can talk for the rest of class, then." She shrugged and an ocean of gossip spread across the room.

"_did you hear that one about Buffy?…ewww, her and the librarian…I heard she burnt down her old school…Do you see the way she dresses?" _

Everyone was talking about her and it drove her crazy, so she didn't listen and put her head down on the desk.

* * *

The cafeteria was abuzz with chatter as Buffy sat down and began to eat her tots. Coredelia sat on Xander's lap and Willow on Oz's.

"Excuse me? Do we happen to have a chair shortage?" Snyder surprised them.

"I didn't read about-" Willow got off Oz's lap. "Oh."

Snyder gave a menacing look at Cordelia and she fell.

"Are you okay, Cordy?" Buffy looked down. Snyder left.

"Oh, yeah. Nothing like a great fall to…"Her nostrils flared. "Oh my God! Is there gum in my hair?" She ran out of the room and Xander just smiled.

* * *

Buffy stood lonely on the upper balcony of the Bronze. Willow was waiting like a groupie at the edge of the stage as Dingoes Ate my Baby played and Cordelia and Xander were slow dancing. Angel hadn't appeared.

After the song finished, Devon took the microphone and with a smile began to speak "Our next song is dedicated to Willow Rosenberg from her boyfriend, Oz, our guitarist." Claps resounded all around and Willow was glowing. She turned quickly and motioned for Buffy to come on down, she did and Cordelia and Xander joined them as they danced together to Willow's song.

Buffy stayed in rhythm and she heard someone behind her.

"Save me the last dance, Slayer?" She turned to find a fully vamped Spike.


	9. Last Dance

"Save me the last dance, Slayer?" Spike asked rudely.

"You wish." Her eyes narrowed. "Let's take this outside, now." She said, straight to the point.

"No weapons, little girl." He grinned.

"I wouldn't dream of it." She shrugged and followed him out of the club.

Behind her, Willow ran for her purse and tossed it to Xander, who dug for a stake.

Outside, Buffy and Spike began to talk.

"You gonna dance?" He taunted.

"Why did you come, Spike?"

"Wanted to warn you. Advise you to get your affairs in order." He smiled as is he was doing her a favor.

"Oh, like you're actually gonna do something? Spike, c'mon, you're an instant gratification kind of guy…Angelus was always the plotter."

His eyes widened and he paused "How would you know that?" He asked curiously.

"You think I haven't read the Slayer's diaries and all that history crap?" She groaned.

"Um, okay…as I was saying, Dru and I we're planning a little, oh, apocalypse…" His eyes looked away from her. "I thought I said 'no weapons'." He got angry.

Buffy looked around and saw no one near. "Spi-?"

"Your buddies! Goddamn Scoobies! …Run along." He ordered as he started to walk away. "Oh, and Slayer?" He stopped.

"Yes?" She replied unenthusiastically.

"Have fun." He laughed cruelly. He disappeared.

"Buffy, we're here!" Willow and Xander came bumbling out with Cordelia in tow.

"You're too late." She said simply.

* * *

Angel finally arrived, interrogated her and then began to assist her in studying Algebra II. They went back into interrogation mode.

"Angel…I'm soo worried."

"Don't be, we've been through this before." He put his hand on her shoulder, reassuring her.

"Hopefully it'll take him longer to figure out, I mean, he is, after all, stupider than you." She said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, thanks." He smiled nervously.

"It was really a compliment, Angel, I would never insult you." She whispered in a defensive tone.

"Okay."

"Buffy! Come on! This song is great!" Willow exclaimed in the background.

"I guess I'll be dancing." She smiled and got up. She began to turn away…

"Promise you'll save me the last dance?" He asked faintly but she heard.

She turned back "Always." She whispered, sincerely.

* * *

_Ok, I know she should be getting ready, but, I wanted to appease the BA shippers with some fluffiness. Action will be coming, I promise. Plus a longer chapter, I didn't realize how short this one was until I uploaded. P.S. Thanks for all the reviews! They are much appreciated!_


	10. A Companion Picture

After leaving the Bronze, Angel wearily leaned against a wall in an old dirty alley. He tapped his watch as he waited for someone to arrive.

He heard the chick of expensive heels and turned. "Ahh, Dru…you're late." He said nonchalantly.

"You've been a very bad daddy." She scolded him as she neared.

"I know, Drusilla, I've been very very bad. Will you just speak with me a trifle?" He asked.

"I suppose" Drusilla paused "but I must leave soon to feed Miss Edith. She doesn't know how to set up for tea parties." She rambled worriedly. Confusion was apparent in her features. "Are you going to come home with me…pretend it was the old days?"

"I'm afraid not, darling, Daddy's awful busy. You needn't worry about that." He sighed "but I have a favor to ask of you."

* * *

Math confused Buffy terribly. She had never been good with numbers. Reasoning she could handle, but all the numbers drove her out of her head. Imaginary numbers, square roots, division, multiplication, quadratic formulas, substitution…it was all horrendously difficult. She scribbled on her workout sheet trying to make sense out of it all, finally, she did.

* * *

"Oh, Spikey! It's…beautiful! I've never had a doll so lush!" Drusilla squealed as she danced around Acathla as if it were a maypole. 

"I thought you'd like it, pet." He grinned as he watched her in curiosity. She always surprised him, even after 100 years.

"Did you buy wee little sailor's jackets and knickers? I should like to dress him up so very much!" She looked to him with a pleading childlike tone.

"No, darling, this doll isn't quite like all the others. He doesn't eat crumpets or wear frilly dresses. I suppose you could say he was an action figure."

Drusilla was shocked "He doesn't eat crumpets?"

* * *

Buffy and Angel were next to a crypt in Restfield, kissing (they were actually instructed to patrol, but that obviously never went off without a hitch), when they heard rustling branches. Buffy broke the kiss. "What was that?" She listened to the wind and lack of cemetery patrons. 

"I don't know." He sniffed the air.

Buffy got up and looked all around. She was turned one way when she heard "Boo!" from behind her.

"Haha, very funny!" She turned and smiled.

"I just thought I'd rustle your feathers a bit." Kendra laughed.

"Along with the branches? Kendra, Kendra, what has Giles told you about being subtle?" Buffy hugged her Slayer friend.

"This is slightly uncomfortable." Kendra choked out.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." She let go "So why are you here? Social visit?" Buffy asked.

Kendra shook her head "I should wish for something like that."

"Lemme guess, the world is in peril?"

"Very good. Do you want a cookie?" Kendra teased. They had apparently become very close through letters.

"We already know the sitch, Kendra. But thanks." She shrugged.

"But I have a little 'gifty' for you." She caught Buffy off guard.

"Gifty? Buffy gets a gifty?" Buffy got increasingly excited. Angel watched, amused.

"Yes." Kendra nodded "But I don't think you'll enjoy it very much." She pulled out a sword.

"You have no idea." Buffy grinned as she took the grip and held it in her hand.

"You're actually darker than I thought." Kendra seemed shocked.

"Quite the comedian."

* * *

"Isn't it pretty, Giles?" Buffy boasted off her new sword.

"Yes, yes. It's quite the weapon, but what does it do? Did you think to ask?"

"Urm, no." Buffy shrugged. "I mean, she's right here, Giles." She motioned toward her Slayer counterpart.

"True, true. I've been on the phone to the museum. The artifact in question is missing, and the curator has been murdered. Vampires. This seems to fit in very well."

Buffy tapped her head. "Like a steel trap."

"You do have quite a good memory."

Willow walked out from behind the counter.

"Okay, somebody explain the whole 'he will suck the world into Hell' thing, because that's the part I'm not loving."

Giles began to explain, averting his attention from Buffy completely. "Well, the, uh, the Demon Universe exists in a dimension separate from our own. With one breath, Acathla will create a vortex, a-a kind of, um... whirlpool that will pull everything on Earth into that dimension, where any non-demon life will suffer horrible and...eternal torment."

"And, Wills, that would be the literal 'sucked into hell'." Buffy noted.

Willow looked down "Oh. Fun."

"Totally-" Buffy spoke sarcastically and was interrupted by Xander and Cordelia entering the library. He looked around and grinned broadly.

"I have won the lottery! I won a round in the broom closet and both of my favorite Slayers are right here!" He looked to the heavens and whispered. "Thank you." Kendra stiffened. Angel smirked from the corner.

"It's not that easy, Xand." She sighed.

"Uh oh." Cordelia put her books down on the counter. "Billy Idol and crazy chica are gonna kill us all, aren't they?"

"Well, not really. I've been through this before, so all is good." Buffy crossed her arms in triumph.

"Oh yeah, that whole other Buffy thing." Xander shrugged.

"What does he mean by 'dat?" Kendra widened her eyes and opened up.

* * *

_don't get mad about the whole Angel-Drusilla thing, it'll unravel, it's a total plot twist...lol. P.S. Mucho Thanks for the reviews._


	11. Becoming

I know it's short, but only about two more chapters left! Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

Buffy spilled the story, sparing no detail, by the end Kendra was blushing and withdrawn.

"Well, that was interesting." Jenny came out from behind the stacks "So, Angel actually kills me?" She was slightly shocked.

"Jenny. I didn't know you were back there." Giles took off his glasses and rubbed them.

"Nifty little story you got there, Buffy." Jenny smiled.

* * *

"So we all charge in, kill as many vamps as we can, hopefully gettingSpike andDru as well." Buffy spoke as she pointed at the white board. "Daylight assault. Their minions, probably dumb as hell, won't even know there's a sewer connection into the house." She smirked. Xander cracked a grin, and Cordelia just wasn't paying attention. "Willow, I need you to seal off the sewer just in case, some magical mojo. Get Ms. Calendar's help." Willow nodded. Ms. Calendar rolled her eyes, she hated authority, especially from someone ten years younger than her.

"Buffy?" Angel asked from the corner.

"Yeah, Angel?" She bit her lip.

"I've got another thing we can add. But I can't tell you in front of the group." He looked around, dodging glares.

"Okay." She gave a grim smile. She looked towards Giles. "Giles, can we use your office?"

"Yes, yes-of course." He nodded in compliance.

* * *

Buffy had a smile on her face. "Angel, that's brilliant!"

Modestly "It's nothing all that much."

"But, it's everything to me."

"So a 2 o'clock attack?" He got back to business.

"Yeah. Ms. Calendar and Willow are gonna be in the sewers at one, sealing up stuff, they'll release it when you arrive. I can't wait until this is over." She sighed.

"Me too."

* * *

Buffy was walking down the road, with Xander, Cordelia, Oz, and Giles in tow. Each armed with a stake and an axe, Buffy finally felt she was ready.

* * *

Jenny was tired, reading an instruction manual on computer repair, she didn't look up. "Hello, Angel." Her voice was grim and grudging.

"Hello, Jenny." He replied.

"You ready to roll, Angel?" Willow said with a smile, reading a cheap romance novel, next to Jenny.

"Jenny, do you have a pager?" Angel looked down.

"Yes." She groaned and removed it from her pocket.

Angel put Buffy's number in.

Meanwhile…

Buffy's pocket rang out as they stood outside the mansion.

"Crap." She muttered and took her pager from her pocket. _Set _it read. Angel, She thought with a smile. She turned to the group. "You guys ready to kick some demon ass? I know I am."


	12. Bargaining

Buffy kicked open the door and yawned.

"What the he-?" A vampire, who was sleeping by the door exclaimed, but was cut off by Buffy's stake.

"Honey?" She called through the mansion. "Buffy's home!" She smiled at the thought of a brutal staking.

"Slayer, slayer, didn't you get the memo?" Spike strolled out from a neighboring room.

"Hmm?" Buffy raised her eyebrows.

"This is me and Drusie's rest day. We get extremely pissed if it is interrupted." He vamped.

"And I care, why?" She grinned, as she saw Angel enter the room, extremely quietly.

"You should care, 'cause your little friends are about to be annihilated." He crossed his arms confidently.

"In your dreams." She nodded towards Angel in signal. She saw him whisper to Drusilla. And Drusilla nodded to Angel. Buffy thought it extremely funny, all of this betrayal was happening behind Spike's back and he had no idea. _God, he's an idiot. _She smirked.

"Boys!" He called to his minions. They all vamped out.

"Bloody hell." Giles muttered below his breath.

"Crap." Xander commented.

"I'm gonna die! Blood's gonna ruin my Manolo Blahniks." Cordelia exclaimed, sincerely frightened.

Oz just stood with a look of cool dismay on his face.

"Ooh, Spike, you think I'm scared?" She raised an eyebrow, mocking him.

"You should be." He turned to his group, whispered a little something, and turned back only to explode into dust.

"Oops?" Dru smiled.

* * *

"You just killed Spike!" One of his minions growled. "Idiot!"

"Bad boy!" She narrowed her eyes and slapped him.

"Thanks, Dru." Angel whispered.

"He was becoming a pain in the ass. All self-absorbed and the like." She shrugged. "Glad to help."

"I'm sorry." He said, almost upset, readying his hand.

"For what, daddy?" Her eyes widened and her head fell off her shoulders, becoming a mound of dust before it even hit the floor.

Buffy stood with a frozen expression on her face, shocked at the scene before her eyes. Angel had told her how it would go down, but it still surprised her, nonetheless.

Angel looked at her, he signaled and they all charged in.

A few slices of the axe, and some stakings, it was finally over. Buffy slumped against a wall and wiped the gleaming sweat and chalky dust off her forehead, which was now very grey.

Angel slumped beside her, perfect as ever. Buffy looked over and pouted.

"How is this fair? I look like crap and you look like you're going out on the town." She glanced to her feet.

He put his hand under her chin, which made her turn back "I'd love you even if you were covered in slime." Buffy looked confused and he paused "That sounded better in my head."

She nodded and they proceeded to kiss. "All better now." She whispered.

"You wanna take a shower at my place?" He surveyed her.

"Count on it." Buffy smiled. They stood up and made their way out through the sewer entrance, hand in hand. Beaming the entire way.

* * *

_Voila! Finished! The next "What if?" will be out shortly. I hope you enjoyed this fic. Love ya! Thankies for the reviews!_


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